


The Saga of the Braid: Midlands Edition

by beerbad



Category: Legend of the Seeker
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-22
Updated: 2010-06-22
Packaged: 2017-10-20 00:51:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/207052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beerbad/pseuds/beerbad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is a mysterious braid in Kahlan's hair one day.  How did it get there?!</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Saga of the Braid: Midlands Edition

**Author's Note:**

> Um, I certainly have some explaining to do for this one, lol. The following events lead to this fic being unleashed upon you all today:
> 
> 1\. Last October I wrote Grey's Anatomy fic to explain the origins of a braid that suddenly and mysteriously showed up in Meredith's hair;  
> 2\. halfabubble (YES THIS IS REALLY YOUR FAULT *G*) posted a picture to her tumblr of KAHLAN with a mysterious braid in her hair;  
> 3\. foibles_fables and I had an interesting conversation about this coincidence;  
> 4\. Clearly this second mysterious braid had to be explained. I mean, clearly. So here you go, for everyone who was wondering where it might've come from!
> 
> THE SAGA OF THE BRAID and all resulting offshoots are continuously dedicated to foibles_fables, without whom none of this cracky goodness would exist. (And who should very possibly have a co-writing credit here, seriously.) Thanks for egging me on, bb. :) <3

Kahlan woke up feeling surprisingly well-rested. Perhaps she had finally gotten used to sleeping on the hard ground, or perhaps their run-in with an unexpected pack of banelings the day before had tired her out more than she had thought. In either case, she felt marvelous. Stretching, Kahlan sat up and ran her hand through the length of her hair.

She stopped suddenly when she felt something that hadn’t been there before. A section of her hair on the right side of her head had been braided and tied loosely at the bottom. Richard, she chuckled, always showing his affection in the strangest of ways.

As they continued on their journey that day, Kahlan found herself fondling the small braid and smiling to herself. He must’ve done it the night before, she thought, while she was in such a deep sleep by the warm comfort of the fire that it didn’t wake her.

Richard came up beside her. “Kahlan, what is that? What’s that in your hair you’re playing with?”

She looked at him with confusion. “It’s a _braid_ , Richard. I’m sure you know, seeing as how you…” He still had the same questioning expression on his face. “…You were the one who braided it.”

If it were possible, Richard looked even more perplexed. “That’s silly, of course I didn’t. I don’t know the first thing about hair, let alone how to treat hair as luxurious as yours.”

Kahlan stopped dead in her tracks. As Richard went on ahead, she noticed Cara out of the corner of her eye. Kahlan could swear she saw a smirk spreading across the blonde’s lips. She felt the corners of her own mouth turn up in a smile as the implications become clear.

“Cara!” she called as she moved towards her companion. She held out the braid, indicating it as she spoke, “You did this, didn’t you?”

Cara rolled her eyes, as she was wont to do, but Kahlan couldn’t help but notice how her smirk slowly transformed into a sly grin. “Now why would I do such a trivial thing? Besides, you’re supposed to braid _all_ of your hair.”

“I don’t know, you tell me,” Kahlan tried, knowing how difficult it could be to get answers out of the Mord’Sith walking beside her. “And remember, you can’t lie to a Confessor. I’ll know,” Kahlan said playfully as she grabbed Cara’s arm.

Cara slowed their pace until they stilled. Deliberately, she turned her head until she was staring directly into Kahlan’s eyes. The look was perhaps the most mischievous Kahlan had ever seen, but with a glimmer of something else hidden under the surface. In that moment, Kahlan understood. Cara didn’t need to say anything else.

Releasing Cara’s arm, Kahlan’s hand moved back to the braid. She let out a small giggle as she twirled it around her fingers, feeling her face start to blush red. Cara merely shook her head as she turned back to the path in front of them with a sigh.

As Cara caught up to Richard and Zedd, the wizard leaned over to her. “I hope that’s the only thing you’re braiding,” he warned in a soft but firm voice. Cara smiled to herself. Maybe one day Zedd would learn to mind his own business. In the meantime, the old man certainly wasn’t going to stop Cara from going about hers.

~~~

That night, Kahlan made certain her bedroll was laid out more closely to Cara’s than it normally was. As they sat staring into the fire, Kahlan reached one hand over to stroke Cara’s hair. In an instant, Cara batted her hand away. The gesture seemed good-natured, but Kahlan could make out the subtle tensing of her posture.

“What are you doing?!” Cara asked skeptically.

“I…” Kahlan laid her hand on Cara’s thigh instead. “I wanted us to match,” she answered sheepishly. Suddenly she realized why her attempt may have upset Cara. Braids were a powerful symbol to the Mord’Sith; Cara had kept her hair loose ever since her sisters had sliced her braid off in a gesture meant to dishonor her.

“I’m sorry, Cara,” Kahlan said in a small voice. “I just wanted to thank you for…” As she gripped the braid in one hand Kahlan felt a smile return to her face. The thought of Cara secretly touching her, braiding her hair in the middle of the night only served to widen Kahlan’s smile. And send a distinct tickle up her spine.

“I suppose you’ll just have to find some other way to repay the favor,” Cara commented, the same spark of mischief present in her eyes that Kahlan had seen earlier that day.

Kahlan felt another shiver run through her as she held Cara’s gaze. “I suppose I will.”

~~~

That night, Cara was awoken by a hand trailing up and down her back. She started; it took her a moment to realize who the hand belonged to. She relaxed as she felt Kahlan press her body against Cara’s back, hands moving to stroke her arms. Cara lay still as Kahlan kissed her neck, nuzzling into her blond hair. Cara felt a pleasing sense of accomplishment wash over her as she dropped her shoulder and rolled onto her back.

Kahlan, smiling down at a clearly awake Cara, lowered her head to kiss tiny patterns over Cara’s chest, neck, and cheeks. After what seemed like an eternity, Cara finally felt Kahlan’s sweet lips brush against her own. With a growl, Cara pulled the Confessor down towards her, crushing their bodies together as she deepened the kiss. For her part Kahlan showed little hesitancy, catching Cara’s bottom lip between her teeth as she reached her hands up to cup Cara’s face.

As Cara had feared, Kahlan finally ended the kiss and slid off of her, snuggling up to her side. Cara let out the softest sigh of disapproval she could manage at that moment, which she thought was an impressive feat.

She felt Kahlan’s cheek as the brunette smiled against Cara’s shoulder. “We wouldn’t want to make Zedd any more suspicious, now would we?” Cara could only roll her eyes in response. However, she found she was still enjoying having Kahlan pressed against her like this, their legs intertwined.

Kahlan yawned as she closed her eyes and tightened her grip around Cara’s waist. “Thank you for my braid, it was very sweet,” she whispered, pressing one last kiss into the blonde’s shoulder.

As she closed her own eyes, Cara thought she might have to be sneaky more often.

 

THE END.  
And now you know. *g*

**Author's Note:**

> For more notes and ~bonus features~, please go to: http://beerbad.livejournal.com/306020.html


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